The Persian Version | 2023 | R | – 5.4.6

Why is “The Persian Version” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language and some sexual references.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a teen girl marrying a 22-year-old man, a man married to two women at the same time, a woman dying in childbirth, a stillborn child, a fall that causes injuries, discussions of heart transplants, discussions of Iran and US relations, many arguments, and about 12 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A young Iranian-American woman (Layla Mohammadi) tries to find joy while wading through the drama and trauma of having a domineering mother, 8 brothers and belonging to two disparate cultures. Also with Niousha Noor, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, Jerry Habibi, Arty Froushan, Tom Byrne, Reza Diako, Parsa Kaffash, Mia Foo, Andrew Malik, Parmida Vand, Ash Goldeh and Samuel Tehrani. Directed by Maryam Keshavarz. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Persian with English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:47]

The Persian Version SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A woman and a man kiss on a bed at a party as she tells him that she loves “drag queens”; he is wearing an outfit for the play “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” where he stars as Hedwig Robinson, they continue to kiss and sex is implied (we see him sleeping shirtless later with his bare chest, abdomen, back and legs visible, as well as a breast pad stuck to one side of his chest).
► A 13-year-old girl is married to a man and we see her pregnant and delivering a child; we later see her caring for the child and holding her back in pain. A teen girl finds her husband with another woman as they caress each other’s faces and hands and she understands that the woman is pregnant with his child; the teen hyperventilates and stands on a stone wall, seeming to cause herself injury, but she does not. A teen girl learns that her husband has another wife and we later hear that the woman died in childbirth; the man brings the child to his teen wife and asks her to nurse him after the teen wife’s child was stillborn (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A woman advises her granddaughter to have anal sex in order to remain a virgin. People kiss on the cheeks in greeting. Signs on a telephone booth read “Live Girls.” People ask a woman, “When is your daughter getting married?” in several scenes. A woman is told by a doctor that she is “very pregnant,” and she replies, “I didn’t know you could get pregnant from a one-night stand.” A reference is made to birth control. A woman panics in a store when she sees her former wife and they talk briefly; she says she still loves her and we hear that she has left 54 messages for her. Men and women dance in a few party scenes. A young girl is shown smuggling a cassette tape by putting it in her underwear and when airport security says that they are going to do a full-body search she complains of a rash. A reference is made to toxic shock syndrome and tampon use. A teen girl mocks a teen boy for being a cheerleader to “throw the girls in the air and look up their skirts.”
► A pregnant woman’s bare abdomen is shown while she has an ultrasound. A woman wears a burkini that reveals her bare legs, partial buttocks, cleavage and bare abdomen. A woman wears a cropped top that reveals her bare abdomen and cleavage. A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. A man wears a robe in a theater dressing room and we see his bare chest and legs to the upper thighs. Teen cheerleaders wear short skirts that reveal their bare legs to the underwear line. A newborn is shown and we see her bare back, legs and buttocks.

The Persian Version VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – We hear that a man needs a heart transplant; he has a heart attack and a doctor talks about a triple bypass. A woman slips and falls on a wet floor in a grocery store (we see her wearing a neck brace); she later yells in pain. A teen girl delivers a stillborn child and we see her hold the motionless newborn (a bit of goo and blood are evident). A pregnant teen girl rides a donkey to a bus stop and realizes that she is bleeding (we see blood); she goes to a hospital and delivers a stillborn child after screaming and pushing. A woman yells in labor and we see blood on her hand; she pushes and screams (we see the newborn with a bit of goo as she cries); the woman holds the child and the woman vomits on her (we see goo).
► Three people with handguns go to a village to confront a man for having two wives (he is not shot). A young girl is shown smuggling a cassette tape by putting it in her underwear and when airport security says that they are going to do a full-body search she complains of a rash.
► A woman argues with her daughter in several scenes and tells her that her grandfather would be ashamed of her, as she tells her to leave a family gathering. A woman tells her daughter, “We don’t need you here,” when she arrives to visit her father in a hospital and she leaves in tears. Two women argue about their relationship and they break up. A woman blames her mother for breaking up her marriage to a woman. A woman tells her teen son to get ready for school and he replies, “I’m not going to school” and leaves the room. A woman is advised to file bankruptcy because of a large medical bill (she has no health insurance) and she replies, “We are Iranian. We don’t do bankruptcy.” A man calls taking a loan to pay a bill “usury.” A teen girl learns that her husband has another wife and we later hear that the woman died in childbirth. A woman’s child is taken from her and we hear that men in Iran are given custody in divorce settlements. A woman accuses her child of having bad friends. A young woman says that her brother lived in a crack house.
► A woman’s voiceover describes coming to America as a child and feeling like she didn’t fit in, as either an Iranian or as an American. We hear that in 1967 during the Vietnam War, the US recruited doctors from Iran. We hear a news report about attacks on people in Jersey City and businesses being burned. We hear about yellow fever causing many deaths. A remark is made about Iran and America hating each other and about Iranian deportation. A doctor makes several remarks about animals when addressing a patient and his family; they wonder if she is calling them cats or dogs, and wonder if she thinks they are cannibals. A doctor tells a patient, “I haven’t lost many patients.” A woman describes Muslim women as being “passive good girls.”

The Persian Version LANGUAGE 6

 – About 12 F-words and its derivatives, 4 sexual references, 1 obscene hand gesture, 5 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (Goth, hippie, metrosexual, smelly terrorist, moron, Mr. Ugly, enigma, smelly Imperialist, irresponsible, stupid, heartless, awkward, coward, stubborn, selfish, cruel, Mommy Dearest, crazy), exclamations (shut-up, cool, hurry up, wow, I spit on her, men will be men), 1 religious profanity (GD), 16 religious exclamations (e.g. God, my God, oh my God, God, oh Lord, God is generous, Holy [F-word deleted], God help me). | profanity glossary |

The Persian Version SUBSTANCE USE

 – There is a reference to a young man living in a crack house, and people receive injections (we see the hypodermic needles). A woman smokes a cigarette, and a teen boy smokes a cigarette.

The Persian Version DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Iran, culture wars, family secrets, health insurance, bankruptcy, foreclosure, opportunity, Desert Storm, fear, living your truth, unplanned pregnancy, scandals, terrorism, science, anger, forgiveness, yellow fever, gossip, grief, humiliation, gender roles, politics, Islamic Revolution, Mikhail Gorbachev, WHO, psychosis, dreams, disappointment, GED, the Iron Curtain, toxic shock syndrome, Shia Muslims.

The Persian Version MESSAGE

 – Find joy; pain can’t touch you if you don’t talk about it.